Overview

ArtCare was founded in 2010 as a partnership between the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) and the San Francisco Art Dealers Association (SFADA) that focused on the restoration of aging and damaged public artworks that are among the City’s major cultural assets. In 2013 the decision was made for ArtCare to become an independent nonprofit and to expand its program areas. Until it receives its own 501c3 status, ArtCare is a fiscally sponsored project of Intersection for the Arts (Federal Tax ID #94-1593216) and all contributions are tax-deductible.

ArtCare’s work enriches the lives of San Francisco residents and visitors, and elevates the City’s image through its programs. A 2012 study conducted by Americans for the Arts reports that arts and culture are a key reason that people choose to visit and live in San Francisco. Art not only enhances quality of life, but is also an investment in the City’s economic well-being.

Mission

ArtCare supports the work of the San Francisco Arts Commission, enriching cultural life in our city that is renowned for its artistic vitality, innovation, opportunity and inclusiveness. ArtCare works in conjunction with the Mayor, the Director of Cultural Affairs and the Arts Commissioners to ensure that art is valued and creativity thrives.

Vision

ArtCare supports the work of the San Francisco Arts Commission, enriching cultural life in our city, renowned for its artistic vitality, innovation, opportunity, and inclusiveness, where art is valued and creativity thrives.

Board Members

Meg Spriggs (Chair of the Board, ArtCare) – Meg Spriggs leads the multifamily investments group for Shorenstein Properties. As a long time multifamily real estate executive, she is charged with building the residential platform for the company including sourcing, evaluating and overseeing the execution of multifamily housing transactions for the Shorenstein family, including financing, acquiring, entitling, developing, managing and divesting of properties, and supporting other Shorenstein professionals in the evaluation and execution of mixed-use projects with a multifamily component.

Elizabeth McNichols (Secretary, ArtCare) – Elizabeth McNichols is Chief Operating Officer and a partner at The OutCast Agency, a marketing and communications consultancy with its roots in Silicon Valley. Elizabeth has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing and communications with extensive experience helping organizations build reputation and create value through integrated brand experiences. As a marketing strategist she has served a diverse range of clients in technology, retail, healthcare and finance – from fledgling start-ups to multinational corporations..

Eric Tao (Treasurer, ArtCare) – Eric Tao is CEO and president of AGI Avant. He has 20-years of experience in the real estate industry and has led the acquisition, entitlement, financing, development and disposition of over 1,500 multifamily residential units in the San Francisco Bay Area with a focus on transit oriented urban infill projects. AGI Avant, LLC was formed in 2006 to manage multifamily development investments for CalPERS. At AGI Avant, Tao has guided the development of nearly 700 new units and secured the pipeline of an additional 450+ new apartment units in the emerging San Francisco SoMa, Dogpatch and Mid-Market districts. Originally from the Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai’i, he now shares his Aloha spirit with his wife and three children on his new adopted island home of San Francisco. Eric is a graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, CA and received his Juris Doctorate from UC Hastings College of Law. Boards and Activities: Board Director – Housing Action Coalition San Francisco; San Francisco Mayor’s Housing Trust Fund Working Group; SPUR Housing and Community Resources Board Member; San Francisco ULI Policy and Practice Committee Member; Board Director – Hawaii Chamber of Commerce of Northern California, a nonprofit committed to building business and cultural ties between the Bay Area and Hawaii Education.

Marna Braunstein Clark – Marna Braunstein Clark brings and impressive background of strategic marketing and fund raising expertise in the San Francisco Bay Area to the ArtCare Board. She has over three decades of successful associations with major non-profit and corporate clients, including being instrumental in the development of ArtCare. Non-Profit clients range from the San Francisco Opera, SF MOMA, and SF AIDS Foundation to producing the week-long opening celebrations for Yerba Buena Gardens and Performing Arts Center for the SF Redevelopment Agency. Marna also worked for the global advertising agency Foote, Cone and Belding as Sr. Vice President and Executive Director of an in house event production department whose clients included Levi Strauss, USPS, Autodesk, Sega, Palm Pilot and Seagate Technologies. Marna also produces and sells her unique style of flamework jewelry to the SF MOMA, The Gardener, Tacoma Museum of Glass and Vetri Gallery in Seattle.

Dorka Keehn – Dorka Keehn is an award winning public artist and a San Francisco Arts Commissioner. On the Arts Commission, she serves as chair of the Visual Arts Committee that commissions artwork pertaining to the Public Art Program, and reviews and approves all art in the Civic Art Collection and the Art Commission Gallery. She is also a member of the Civic Design Review Committee, which evaluates and has final purview over all construction, remodeling, or renovation of City-owned architecture, streets, and landscape design. Recent projects include Dorka’s second collaboration with artist Brian Goggin (metaphorm.org) on a permanent site-specific artwork, Caruso’s Dream, commissioned by Avalon Bay for a new 17-story high-rise, AVA 55 Ninth Street, in San Francisco, completed February 2014. Their previous collaboration, The Language of the Birds, the first solar powered public sculpture commissioned by the SF Arts Commission for a new plaza on the corner of Broadway and Columbus, was voted one of the best public artworks in the U.S. by Americans for the Arts. She also lead the fundraising effort for The Bay Lights (thebaylights.org), the $8 million 25,000 LED light installation by artist Leo Villareal for the San Francisco Bay Bridge that was unveiled in March 2013. Dorka also sits on the advisory boards of the Black Rock Art Foundation and The Crucible.

Charles Strickler – Chuck Strickler is a Senior Banker with J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank with more than 25 years of experience investing across multiple asset classes. Chuck advises wealthy families, individuals and foundations on comprehensive investment management, trust and credit solutions. Chuck joined JP Morgan’s Private Bank in 1997. He left in 2004 and returned in 2011 after having worked at Lehman Brothers running a team focused on providing investment advice to family offices and mid-market institutions. He started his career at Yamaichi Securities in Switzerland trading Eurobonds. He also has spent time at UBS and Goldman Sachs working in Private Wealth Management. Chuck’s experience includes commercial real estate in asset management, leasing, and acquisition. Chuck received his M.B.A from the University of Chicago in Finance and his B.A. at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Chuck has lived and traveled around the world but considers himself a Bay Area native since having moved here back in the mid-70’s. He currently lives in Danville with his wife and two high school children. His passion for music and contemporary art has not only made him a patron of Bay Area Arts but has fostered a strong desire to help keep the Arts relevant in the Bay Area. Chuck joined the ArtCare Board in 2015.

Jim Abrams – Jim Abrams is an attorney, urban planner, and musician who lives in San Francisco. After studying City Planning at MIT and attending Stanford Law School, he became a member of the California Bar. Jim practices land use law in San Francisco, assisting developers and investors with obtaining approvals to construct complex development projects throughout the Bay Area. Jim has a particular expertise in assisting with the rehabilitation and reuse of historic buildings. Jim is an avid collector and patron of the arts, and was named one of the “Fifty Most Discerning Young Collectors” by Modern Painters magazine in 2013.

Brian Gross -Brian Gross is a 35-year veteran art dealer and gallerist. He founded Brian Gross Fine Art in 1990 in the Union Square area, and in 2013, he became a pioneering force in the Potrero Hill / Dogpatch arts district, transforming a former industrial space into a landmark exhibition venue. Prior to BGFA, Brian Gross was a partner in Fuller Gross Gallery, 1986-90, a premier San Francisco showcase for contemporary art. Bay area legends Robert Arneson, Roy De Forest and Robert Hudson were an integral part of that program, and BGFA continues to represent those artists and estates. Renowned Los Angeles figures Peter Alexander, Tony Berlant, and Ed Moses are all featured artists of Brian Gross Fine Art. The gallery represents the estates of Robert Arneson, Karl Benjamin, Roy De Forest and Leo Valledor. BGFA’s record has been distinguished by its thoughtfully curated installations and the quality and strength of the art it has exhibited. Notable exhibitions have included Sam Francis: Works on Paper in 2001, Richard Pousette-Dart in 2003 and Leo Valledor: Color Space and Robert Arneson: Guardians of the Secret II in 2016. The gallery has worked with museums and private collections, and civic, corporate and institutional clients worldwide in placing commissions and major works of art.

Board Members

Meg Spriggs, Board Chair

Elizabeth McNichols, Secretary

Eric Tao, Treasurer

Marna Braunstein Clark

Dorka Keehn

Charles Strickler

Jim Abrams

Brian Gross

Trish Bransten

Advisory Board

Richard L. Greene

PJ Johnston

Steven Oliver

Roselyne C. Swig

Diane B. Wilsey

2017 Budget

$200,000

About

ArtCare supports and promotes the San Francisco Arts Commission public and civic art programs in conjunction with the Mayor, the Director of Cultural Affairs, and the Arts Commissioners.